The best and worst places in England for children from poorer backgrounds have been identified in a report for the first time.

The study by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission looked at each of the 324 local authorities and compared the chances a child from a disadvantaged background will do well at school and get a good job.

The key findings include:

:: Many of the richest places in England are doing worse for their disadvantaged children than places that are much poorer.

:: London and its commuter belt are pulling away from the rest of the country, with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds more likely to do well than in the rest of the country.

:: England's major cities are failing to be the places of opportunity that they should be. While London is way ahead no other major city is doing well.

:: Similar areas that are only a few miles apart do very differently on social mobility despite having similar challenges and opportunities.

Chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission Alan Milburn said: "It uncovers a new geography of disadvantage in England which should alarm policy makers, educators and employers and really is a wake up call for all those institutions to do far more so there's a level playing field of opportunity.

"We are a long way from that today. there's a lottery in social mobility."

One example cited in the report is the difference between Slough and Bracknell.

Both local authorities are in Berkshire but have very different levels of deprivation.

While Bracknell Forest is one of the most affluent areas of the county, Slough is one of the most deprived English local authorities.

However, Slough is outperforming Bracknell and many other places when it comes to how well children from poor backgrounds are succeeding in life.

In fact, the county ranks in the top 20% when it comes to the number of disadvantaged students achieving five good GCSEs.

Bracknell on the other hand does particularly badly for disadvantaged children progressing to higher education, with only a handful of children eligible for free school meals going on to a selective university.

Darren Nicholas, headteacher at The Westgate School in Slough, believed it is about creating the desire to do well.

He said: "Our aspiration for each and every student is that they get the best grades but more importantly our tag line is 'equipped for life'.

"We want to ensure every student that leaves the school goes into employment, education or training and has the best opportunites to succeed in adult life."

The reasons for the geographical differences in social mobility are unclear but some experts believe the answer lies in education, primarily teachers.

They say improving the quality of teaching will in turn create more aspiration among children to succeed.